


Don't listen to them

by hundredsclan



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016), Stranger Things RPF
Genre: Billy Hargrove Redemption, Bullying, Child Abuse, Explicit Language, Gay Billy Hargrove, Gay Will Byers, Harringrove, M/M, Post-Season/Series 03, gay mentor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-06-27 04:13:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hundredsclan/pseuds/hundredsclan
Summary: (Billy and Hopper live and the Byers don't move away)After the gate is closed the people of Hawkins Indiana try to move on with their lives once again.Summer is over and the kids have to get back to school. Will is scared he'll be bullied again but a certain blond haired boy will make sure that does not happenHi! This is my first fic ever and English is not my first language so constructive criticism would be appreciated, thank you! :)





	1. Chapter 1

It has been three months since Joyce closed the gate to the Upside Down, summer is over and school starts again in a couple of days. Everyone is at the Byers' residence to celebrate the end of the summer and (hopefully) the end of a traumatic era. Will is sitting on his couch listening to Max and Lucas mock Dustin's singing, he smiles but does not join in, his mind is elsewhere.

School starts again on Monday and him not wanting to go back is an understatement, bullies were still targeting him before the break and he highly doubts things will have changed. Will looks away from the scene happening in front of him and looks at Billy who is talking to Jonathan in the hallway. Three months ago he would not have believed it if anyone told him Billy Hargrove would be in his house, having a nice conversation with his brother, but here he was.

 ~~~~Billy had changed for the better after the Mindflayer debacle, he barely survived being impaled by its tentacles and was stuck in the hospital for a month, Max visited him every day but the rest of the party was hesitant at first, who said Billy wasn't still a dick? After 2 weeks Will started to feel guilty about not visiting Billy, he was the only person who truly understood what he had gone through. When he first arrived at the hospital he felt awkward and he could tell Billy didn't know what to say either but after a while, it got better and Will even appreciated Billy's company since he wasn't a total asshole anymore, to him at least. He and Steve still bickered every chance they got but his snarky remarks didn't have the same angriness to them anymore, it just sounded like _friendly_ teasing.

Will averted his eyes back to Lucas and Max who were laughing loudly, his eyes fell down, they were not worried about going back to school, they could just hold hands in the hallways and no one would bother them. He loved his friends, he truly did, but sometimes he felt so excluded. Will got up, walked to his room and fell onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. Before he went missing everything was so easy, he would just play D&D with the party and they'd have an amazing time, now there were girlfriends. Max and El were nice and cool but he missed the times when it was just the boys. Sometimes he wonders what it would feel like, to have a girlfriend but at the same time, he knows he doesn't want one, he knows he likes boys. 

Every time Will even thought about his secret he could feel his cheeks turn pink, why couldn't he just be normal? At school there had even been a girl who liked him, Anna, he was nice to her and they had hung out a couple of times but then she had asked if they were dating and Will had run off, he hasn't talked to her since and he prays she didn't tell everyone about it. He had almost told Mike several times but chickened out, not wanting to lose him, which he definitely would if Mike knew. It was just so hard, carrying it around with him every single day not having someone to talk about it with.

Suddenly a knock on the door got him out of his thoughts, Billy was standing in his doorway and Will raised an eyebrow 'Hey Billy, um come in, what's up?' Billy walked towards him and sat beside him on his bed. 'Why are you in your room by yourself, shouldn't you be teasing Dustin with the others?' Will smiled, 'I feel like Dustin's been punished for making us listen to his singing enough, I just needed some time to collect my thoughts.' Billy tilted his head 'What ya thinking about Byers?' Will looked down. 'Now that school's starting again I know the bullying will continue, I'm just sick of it.' 

Billy sighed, he figured those little assholes at school would pick on Will, 'You want me to kick their asses?' he asked jokingly to try and lighten the mood.

Will shook his head 'No, thanks though. Figure that would scare them off for a while but then they'll come back harder for me not defending myself, they'll probably call me the F word even more' Billy tilted his head 'The F word?' Will swallowed and spoke very softly 'A _faggot._ '

Silence fell over the room as Billy didn't know what to say to that. After a minute he spoke 'I know this is going to sound harsh, but you just gotta stand up for yourself, don't let those little shits knock you down. I know you can do it, for Christ's sake you battled the Mindflayer, these little shits don't know who they're messing with.' He gave Will a slight smile for comfort.

Will closed his eyes for a second and remained silent, his mind was running like crazy, should he tell Billy his secret? Before he could overthink it he already opened his mouth 'They're right though, I am one.' His eyes connected with Billy's bright blue ones and he could feel his heart drop. Shit he probably was going to kick his ass now, or worse tell everyone, but Billy stayed put and placed his hand on Will's shoulder. 'No you're not.' Will started to tear up 'No you don't understand I _am_ '

'No, okay you're gay, that's okay but you're not that word, don't use that word to describe yourself ever again, do you hear me? That'll give it the power you desperately don't want it to have, trust me.' Billy leaned in and whispered in Will's ear 'Speaking from experience.' Will jerked back, eyes wide and mouth opened 'WHAT?' Billy shushed him 'Quiet down Byers, or do you want everyone to come in here?'

Was he hearing this right? Did Billy Hargrove just tell him he's _gay?_ Billy freaking Hargrove, Hawkins' biggest chick magnet was gay? Will was filled with questions and couldn't get out the right words so instead, he just stared at him. Billy smirked 'Cat's got your tongue? While you digest this I'm gonna go get a drink, don't worry I won't tell anyone about our little chat and I am sure you won't either, ain't that right? Will nodded and watched Billy leave his room.

What the fuck just happened?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for your kind comments, i wasn't expecting that, means a lot to me <33  
> if you ever need someone to talk to my dms are open my ig @ is the same as on here :)
> 
> idk how the american school system works so i'm just gonna say the kids are in their last year of middle school lol

It has been a week since Will had last seen Billy Hargrove, a long confusing week.

Startled by his alarm Will got out of bed and put on his clothes, it was finally Friday again, he had almost survived the first week of school. So far it had been alright, everyone was still adjusting to getting back to school so the bullies hadn't really picked on him, however, his gut told him they would so every day he was just going to prepare himself for the worst.

He walked into the living room and his mom kissed his cheek. “Morning Will! You all ready for school?”Will nodded and gave his mom a tiny smile, not wanting to worry her. “Yeah, of course, I’m gonna bike with the guys today, if that’s okay with you? And, aren’t you going to be late for work?” He knew his mom still felt a little uneasy with him biking, but at least he wasn’t alone now. Joyce gasped “Shoot! You’re right I should be headed to the store” She started grabbing all her things and then turned to Will again before running off. “Be careful honey!” Will chuckled, his mom could be so chaotic sometimes, but that’s one of the things he loved so much about her. He grabbed his things and biked to Mike’s.

As he was biking he thought about the conversation he had had with Billy again. He had been meaning to talk to Billy about it because he had so many questions but he didn’t know how to reach him, it wasn’t like he could just march right into his house and demand some 'gay talk'. From what Will could tell by the way Max and Billy act whenever someone speaks about Billy’s dad he assumes he doesn’t know and definitely wouldn’t be okay with it. Luckily, his mom had deemed Friday's as a mandatory meeting day at their house, she could be very demanding when necessary so Will had no doubt everyone was going to show up tonight, including Billy.

"Earth to Will"

Will looked at Mike who was raising an eyebrow at him. "Dude are you okay? You were staring at my porch without saying anything for like two minutes" "Yeah sorry I was thinking about something, I didn't hear you come out, let's go to school or we'll be late!" Will turned his bike and drove off, Mike following him shortly after.

During lunch break it happened, Will was just washing his hands in the bathroom when he heard 2 voices behind him. "Well well look who it is, Zombie boy is back again huh? You thought we had forgotten about you didn't you" Will turned around and saw Troy and James standing in the bathroom with him, he took a deep breath and remembered what Billy had told him. "Troy, James, nice to see you, unfortunately, I have to go because you are simply not worth my precious lunch break time and I am not afraid of you anymore, goodbye." 

Before they could say anything Will had walked out the bathroom and quickly ran back to the cafeteria. His heart was pounding, he did it, he stood up for himself against those assholes for the first time ever, he felt stronger than ever and couldn't wait to tell Billy about it.

The rest of the day went by pretty smoothly, the last class of the day was Art, Will's favorite class, don't tell Mr. Clarke he said that. The teacher paired them up with a pretty big assignment already, make your own comic. He got paired with Max, which he was happy about since Max was also a comic fan and happened to be pretty creative as well. They spent the entire class brainstorming on ideas and drawing sketches, it was great.

The day was over and Will felt happy as he walked to the bicycle storage until he saw his bike. The tires were flat and his steering wheel was all crooked. Max, Mike, Lucas and Dustin walked up from behind him, Lucas tilted his head "Will what happened, who did this?' Will sighed "Probably Troy and James, they came for me in the bathroom earlier but I defended myself, they must've not liked that." Mike put his hand on Will's shoulder "I didn't know those assholes were still after you, I'm glad you defended yourself, Will. Do you want to tell the school they vandalized your bike?" He shook his head "No, I'm trying this new thing where I act as if I don't care, which I hope will bore them so they leave me alone. Can you give me a ride home though?" 

Max tapped him on his shoulder "Billy's picking me up here and dropping me off at El's, you can catch a ride with us if you want." Hopper's cabin was closer to the school than his house, that would mean Billy would probably drop off Max first, so he'd be alone in the car with Billy. "Thanks Max, I'll come with you." 

They said goodbye to the guys and waited for the Camaro to show up, when it did Will felt his heart jump. Max opened the backdoor "Billy, Will's riding with us can you drop him off at home after you drop me off at El's, please?" Billy rolled his eyes "I swear to God Max, one day I will make you start paying gas money, but alright, get in Byers." Max and Will got in and then they drove off. Billy put on his Metallica music which caused Max to sigh "I still don't understand how you listen to this shit every day, my ears hurt after every car ride." Billy smirked and turned up the volume a little "You know the rules, my car, my music. Besides, Byers likes it, don't you?" He looked at Will in the rearview mirror.

Will stuttered "Uh, yeah it's not that bad" Max scoffed and Billy smiled "See Maxine, someone knows how to be nice to their taxi driver." Max gives him the finger and unbuckles her seatbelt since they had arrived at Hopper's cabin. "See you later shithead" The siblings fist bump and Max gets out of the car, Will did too and moved to the front seat and the Camaro drove away again.

Okay, it was just him and Billy now.

Will was the first one to break the silence "I followed your advice today, I stood up to some bullies. They did trash my bike afterward though " Billy gave him a slight smile "See, I told you you could do it, proud of you Byers. I can probably fix your bike for you if you want." Will nodded "Thank you, and that would be great." Then it was silent again, for quite some time.

Billy was the one to break it this time. "So about the other night, I know you probably want to ask me some shit so this is your window." Will scraped his throat, he had thought of a million questions over the past week and now that he could actually ask them his mind went blank so the only thing that came out was "H-how are you gay?" 

This earned a chuckle from Billy "That's the best you've got? Well, I suppose you should ask the big man up there, I didn't choose to be, nobody does you just are." Will tilted his head "But, you hook up with so many girls though?" Billy sighed "That my young friend is called compensating, I don't wanna cause any suspicion you know, so I do what I gotta do, doesn't mean I enjoy it though." Will was about to speak again but Billy continued "I'm not saying you should do that though, you're way too young for that, alright?" Will nodded "I tried to date this girl last year but I just couldn't do it, it felt wrong, I felt like I was lying to her and to myself." 

They pulled up to the Byers residence.

Will smirked, "I've got one last question, is there anyone in Hawkins whom you like?" Billy laughed loudly, suspiciously loud in Will's opinion, "Here? In Hawkins fucking Indiana? No way, everyone here is as straight as they come. Will chuckled and got out of the car. "See you tonight, Billy." 

As the Camaro sped away Will felt happy, he wasn't alone anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i tagged this work as steve/billy and steve has not been introduced yet but that'll come next chapter, sorry if this disappointed anyone!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! i'm sorry i haven't updated this fic in a while, i kind of lost inspiration for it but it's getting a lot of kudos which means the world to me so i'll continue :)
> 
> i've also published another harringrove fic, check it out if you want <3

As soon as the clock hit 8 pm the Byers' doorbell rang. Will chuckled to himself, that had to be El and Hopper, they were always _exactly_ on time. Will got up from the couch and made his way to the door and opened it. Hopper was wearing another colorful blouse and denim jeans, he ruffled Will's hair as he made his way inside, immediately walking over to the kitchen to go to Joyce. Eleven laughed at Hopper's predictable move "He spent half an hour in front of the mirror earlier." Will snorted and hinted at El to follow him, they stood around the kitchen corner to spy on their parents.

"Joyce, you look uh great" Hopper awkwardly rested his hands on the dinner table as he watched Joyce cook. Will smiled, he knew there was something going on between them even though they had not told him or Eleven yet, it was just too obvious, the way Hopper got all awkward around his mom and the way she smiled at him. He was happy for his mom, she deserved to find love again after everything that had happened and so did Hopper.

They watched the scene for a few more seconds before retreating into Will's room. At first, Will wasn't really sure what to think of Eleven, they barely spoke and it was awkward every time she came over. But now they got a look pretty well, they both weren't big talkers so it was mostly just comfortable silence. Eleven liked to watch Will draw and sometimes she joined him.

"I have some power back. Can't move things yet but I can find people again." Eleven broke the silence, startling Will a little, he didn't expect her to open up about that but for some reason, he was happy she did, meant she trusted him. "I'm sure the rest will come with time. Who knows, maybe you'll develop your vision power" Eleven shot him a confused look "De-ve-lop?" Will nodded encouragingly, he liked helping her with new words "Yes, develop, it means uh, something getter better or stronger." Eleven smiled at him "Thank you"

The doorbell rang again and this time Jonathan went to open it, letting the Wheelers and Sinclairs in the house. Will and Eleven moved back into the living room with everyone else, Eleven immediately grabbing Mike's hand to sit down on the floor together, before Hopper could say anything Joyce gently placed her hand on his and softly spoke: "Let them be Hop." Hoppers expression softened as he let out a quiet sigh "Fine, just this time though!" 

It hadn't even been a minute yet before the Sinclair siblings started bickering about something. "Nah-ah, you promised me you were gonna teach me the rules of Dungeons and Dragons _tomorrow!_ " Lucas raised his hand in the air in disagreement "Don't nah-ah me! And I didn't promise anything, I said maybe. And maybe turned to no cause I'm busy tomorrow." Erica scoffed "With what, crying over the fact that Max dumped your ass for the 7th time? I don't understand what she still sees in you anyway" She started to exaggeratedly mimic Lucas' voice "Ooh Max please take me back I'm sorry for being such a loser." This time it was Mike who jumped in "Erica!" She put up her hands in innocence as Lucas flipped her off "Just the facts" Will laughed, thank god he didn't have a little sister, he wouldn't know how to deal with that, it was entertaining to watch Erica demolish Lucas though. Will scraped his throat "Erica I could explain the rules to you if you want, I'm a much better player than Lucas anyway." Lucas let out an overdramatic whine "Damn it Will, not you too!"

* * *

A knock on his door woke Billy up "Billy what the hell is taking you so long, it's 8, we're gonna be late hurry up!" He slowly rose to his feet, his back protesting at the sudden movement from when his dad has shoved him against the kitchen counter earlier, it hurt like a bitch but he didn't want Max to worry. He opened his door to see an annoyed Max, her expression changed as she saw his body language. Billy cursed in his head, Max had become scarily good at sensing when he was in pain, even if his wounds weren't visible, yet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep, let me just fix my hair real quick." Max nodded and went to sit on his bed. "How do you keep up with him?"

Billy froze in his tracks at Max's sudden bluntness, he continued to work on his hair as he hesitantly replied: "Max, we've talked about this already, just leave it alright?" Max sighed "Okay. Doesn't make me hate him less though. And come on your hair looks fine, let's go already, asshole." Billy snickered "Welcome to the club. Let's go shitbird."

_It has been a month since Max had almost nailed his balls to the floor at the Byers' house. He had kept his promise and had left her alone besides from driving her everywhere as Neil demanded from him. They weren't speaking at all, only if necessary in front of Neil and Susan. For some weird reason, he felt himself missing her remarks about his 'shitty music'._

_It was a cold Tuesday night, a week before Christmas. Billy was driving to Indianapolis to get Christmas presents since there were barely any stores in Hawkins, thank god they were building a shopping center. He passed by a sports store and something in the window caught his eye, a skateboard. It was above his price range but he had to admit it was a nice one, the design was orange and it said California on the bottom. Maybe he could dip into his savings a little bit, that skateboard could be the start of a truce with Max. He bought it and spent the rest of the day getting gifts for Susan and Neil. It was around 9 pm when he got back home, he left the gifts in the trunk and made his way inside._

_His dad was home so he figured he'd go straight to his room, but he didn't agree with that. "Where do you think you're going?" Fuck. Billy turned around "My room, sir."_

_"You think you can just be out all day and go be a lazy piece of shit in your room after? You're picking up your sister from wherever she went to earlier." Neil started walking towards him and he tried to back away, resulting in being face to face with him as his back hit the wall. " I don't know where she is, how the hell am I supposed to pick her up if I don't even know where the little shit is" His dad's fist made contact with his nose before he could finish his sentence, blood ran down his cupid bow into his mouth, asshole must've broken his nose. "Don't give me that attitude!" Billy braced himself for another punch when suddenly he saw a figure standing in the stairway, Max._

_"Neil what are you doing?!" She was screaming and Billy could see she had tears in her eyes, she had never seen one of his dad's famous respect and responsibility lessons before. "Oh Maxine, you're home. I thought you were still out somewhere and Billy here refused to pick you up, he needs to learn. Don't you worry, go back up to your room." But Max didn't move, he made eyecontact with her and desperately mouthed "Go". He could see her lip tremble with fear as she ran back upstairs. His dad grabbed him by his chin. "You're gonna go in there and you are going to make sure she does not tell anyone. You hear me?" "Yes, sir."_

_Billy knocked on Max's door and entered, closing it behind him. Max was sitting on her bed as he sat down beside her she turned to face him, eyes still teary "You never get in fights, do you? Those bruises you always have, he causes them, doesn't he? And that's why you're such an asshole about me being late isn't it?" Billy bit his lip and just nodded at all her questions._

_They talked all night and after begging her, Max promised not to tell anyone. Things were not alright between them yet, but maybe a truce wouldn't be so bad._

* * *

Billy and Max pulled up at the Byers' house at 8:45, they went inside and were greeted by everyone else. Dustin, of course, had to be nosy "Why are you guys so late? It's rude" Billy rolled his eyes "I was teaching Max how to drive, right Max?" Max nodded "Yep, I bet I'll get my drivers license before every single one of you" 

Steve jumped up from the couch "What! Billy are you insane? She's 14!" He turned to Max "Remember the time you almost crashed us in his car?" The siblings snorted at the same time, Max spoke up first "Hey I drove just fine that day! Just cause I hit a trashcan doesn't mean I almost killed us, rude. And I have to learn anyway, don't I?" Billy jumped in "Didn't know your name was Susan now Harrington, trying to baby your daughter." Steve rolled his eyes "Fuck off Hargrove" 

A voice emerged from the kitchen "Hey language!" Steve scoffed "Really Hop, that's when you jump in? Not at the part where a 14 year old said she's driven a car?"

Will was looking at the chaos in front of him and smiled, he never knew what it was like to have a big family but he was getting there now. He shifted his gaze to Billy who was staring at somebody else, he followed his eye trail and that got him to Steve, who was still looking at the kitchen. Will shifted his gaze back and forth between the two of them and his lips curled up to a smile, the way Billy was looking at Steve was the same way Hopper looked at his mom. 

Finally, a chance for him to play matchmaker.


End file.
